Japan Times
Date: Mar 18, 2018
Japanese couple Toshiaki Yoshida (right) and Natsumi Ueno wed via a traditional aboriginal wedding ceremony in Taiwan on Saturday. | KYODO
PINGTUNG, TAIWAN – A Japanese couple has tied the knot in a traditional aboriginal wedding ceremony in southern Taiwan, becoming the first foreign couple to do so since this particular ceremony began 14 years ago.
Toshiaki Yoshida, 36, and Natsumi Ueno, 35, wed in an aboriginal village in Sandimen Township, Pingtung County, on Saturday.
Chien Ching-fa, director of the Maolin National Scenic Area Administration, said of the outdoor ceremony that his agency has been co-organizing the annual event since 2005 to preserve aboriginal culture and promote tourism to the area.
Ten couples — six aboriginal, three ethnic Chinese from Taiwan and the Japanese — all dressed in traditional costumes for the mass wedding ceremony, which was originally developed for nobles from the Paiwan tribe.
The ceremony began with an inspection of the groom’s dowry, followed by the bride being carried in a palanquin to the ceremony venue where the couple danced and drank aboriginal wines. [FULL STORY]
